Scotiabank Cuts Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Price Target to $66.00

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its price target reduced by Scotiabank from $67.00 to $66.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $59.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $49.50 and a 1 year high of $65.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 12.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Black Hills will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 66.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Black Hills by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.